JPH09224181A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm a photographing range and to expand the allowable value of the positional accuracy of the fitting of an image pickup element by necessitating an inexpensive display monitor excellent in portability. SOLUTION: A CCD part 16 consisting of CCDA 16a, CCDB 16b, CCDC 16c and CCDD 16d picks up the images of respective areas obtained by plurally dividing a sheet of image pickup picture and the partial image signal of each is outputted to an image memory 19 and an image rate conversion processing part 20 through a CDS/AGC part 17 and an A/D conversion part 18. The image rate conversion processing part 20 generates a timing signal for obtaining one video signal by synthesizing the respective partial image signals and outputs the image signal to the display monitor 21 after thinning by a prescribed quantity based on this timing signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, an image pickup apparatus has been developed in which a generally known image pickup element is attached to obtain a high-definition image. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-154280 discloses an image pickup device which stores images picked up by a plurality of image pickup elements in a memory and outputs the images to a monitor TV.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of such a conventional image pickup apparatus. In FIG. 9, CCDA1
a, a CCDB1b, a CCDC1c, and a CCDD1d, which are imaged by the CCD group 1 and photoelectrically converted,
CDS (correlated double sampling), AGC (autom
atic gain control) CDS comprising circuits 2a-2d
It is written in the image memory 4 through the AGC circuit group 2 and the A / D converter 3 including the A / D converters 3a to 3d. Then, the data stored in the image memory 4 is
It is read out via the converter 5 and displayed on the display monitor 6.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional image pickup apparatus, the number of memories for storing images picked up by the image pickup elements increases in proportion to the number of the image pickup elements.
For this reason, a display monitor for confirming the shooting range also needs to have high image quality, which lacks portability and hinders cost reduction.

Further, in order to attach a plurality of image pickup elements,
The positional accuracy at the time of mounting the image pickup element had to be accurate on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and enables the confirmation of the shooting range by requiring an inexpensive display monitor with excellent portability and widening the allowable value of the positional accuracy of the image sensor attachment. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image pickup device that can be used.

[0005]

That is, according to the present invention, a plurality of image pickup means for taking an image of each area obtained by dividing one photographing screen into a plurality of areas and outputting respective partial image signals, and the respective partial images. Means for generating a timing signal necessary for synthesizing the signals to obtain one video signal, the plurality of image signals, and the timing signal are input, and the image signal is determined based on the timing signal. And an image rate converting means for outputting after thinning out a fixed amount.

In the image pickup apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of image pickup means picks up an image of each area obtained by dividing one image pickup screen into a plurality of areas, and outputs respective partial image signals.
At the same time, necessary timing signals are generated in order to combine the above-mentioned partial image signals to obtain one video signal. The plurality of image signals and the timing signal are input to the image rate conversion means, and based on the timing signal, the image signal is thinned out by a predetermined amount and then output.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an image pickup system to which the image pickup apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 2, the image photographed by the image pickup device 10 is input to the personal computer 13 via the recording medium 11 and the information reader 12. In addition to the information reader 12 described above, an image output device such as a printer 14 is connected to the personal computer 13 so that a captured high-definition image can be output.

A plurality of image pickup devices are used in the image pickup apparatus 10. Then, the images captured by the image pickup devices are not combined in the image pickup apparatus 10 but are combined by the software of the personal computer 13.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the image pickup apparatus 10 shown in FIG. In the figure, CCD
The section 16 is composed of a plurality of CCDs. In this case, CCDA 16a, CCDB 16b, CCDC1
6c and CCDD 16d. These C
CDA16a, CCDB16b, CCDC16c, CC
The subject image formed by the DD 16d is photoelectrically converted, and then sampled and held by the CDS / AGC unit 17 constituting the CDS / AGC circuits 17a to 17d to become an image signal.

This image signal is converted into A / D converters 18a-1.
It is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 18 composed of 8d and written in the image memory 19. The image signal is
At the same time as being written in the image memory 19, it is transferred to the display monitor 21 via the image rate conversion processing section 20. Then, the subject image is displayed on the display monitor 21.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the image formation state of the subject on the plurality of CCDA 16a to CCDD 16 in the image pickup apparatus 10. In FIG. 3 (a), CCDC
It is assumed that 16c has a rotation of θ in terms of mounting accuracy. In this case, if the subject image is displayed on the display monitor as it is as in the conventional case, as shown in FIG. 3B, only the subject of the CCD C 16c has an image rotated by θ.

In FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the shaded area is the bonded portion of each CCD. The image rate conversion processing unit 20 performs a process for eliminating the above-described state of rotation.

FIG. 4 shows the image rate conversion processing section 20 of FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG. In FIG. 4, the image rate conversion processing unit 20 has a timing signal generation time 22
And a rate conversion unit 23 including latches 23a to 23d
And a RAM section 24 including RAMs 124a to 424d, an image changeover switch 25, and an RGB simultaneous circuit 2.
6.

The timing signal generator 22 receives the sampling clock SCK1 and latches 23a ...
The sampling clock SCK2 is output to 23d. The latches 23a-23d are A / D converters 18a-18
The data is held at the timing of the sampling clock SCK2 from the timing signal generation circuit 22 together with the signal from d.

The relationship between the input image data and the holding timing at this time will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.
Is the CCDC16 that has caused the rotation of θ in FIG.
It is the figure which showed the imaging state of a. In FIG. 5, when the rotation angle of θ is 2.2 degrees, when an originally vertical subject is imaged, the vertical length Y = 3.66 mm and the number of pixels is 49.
4, the horizontal length X = 4.88 mm, and the number of horizontal pixels 5.
An inclination equivalent to 7 pixels occurs.

In the rate converter 23, this pixel difference (5.
In order to reduce (7 pixels), as shown in FIG. 6, pixel data is thinned out by a clock signal SCK2 obtained by dividing the clock signal SCK1 at the time of capturing all pixels by 7. By this thinning-out processing, the above-mentioned inclination of 5.7 pixels becomes one pixel.

The pixel data decimated by the rate conversion unit 23 is stored in the RAM unit 24 and then displayed on the display monitor 21.
It is read at the timing synchronized with the field cycle of.
Then, images are pasted by the image changeover switch 25, and converted into R, G, B signals by the RGB simultaneous circuit 26. After that, the converted R, G, and B signals are output to the display monitor 21.

In the above-described embodiment, the CCDC1
6c has been described, each CCDA1 of the CCD unit 16
The same processing is performed on 6a, CCDB 16b, and CCDD 16d.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the rate conversion unit 23 of the above-described first embodiment is configured as shown in FIG. 7, and is supplied to the rate conversion unit 23 in the image rate conversion processing unit 20. Sampling clock SCK2
However, it is selectable by a switch. Since the configuration other than the rate conversion unit is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description is omitted.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image rate conversion processing unit of the image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the rate conversion unit 23 'is
It is composed of a latch 28, a 4-bit counter 29, a comparator 30, and a selector 31. A switch unit 32 including a switch A and a switch B is connected to the selector 31.

The comparator 30 receives the output of the selector 31 and the output of the 4-bit counter 29 which receives the sampling clock SCK1 and outputs a 4-bit count value. Then, the sampling clock SCK2
Is output to the latch 28, and the signal RES is output to the 4-bit counter 29.

In the latch 28, the signal from the A / D converter 18 is output to the RAM 24 based on the timing of the sampling clock SCK2. The operation for generating the sampling clock SCK2 will be described below.

The 2-bit signal selected by the switches A and B is output from the switch section 32 to the selector 31, where it is converted into 4-bit data. The comparator 30 compares the 4-bit count value of the 4-bit counter 29 with the 4-bit data input from the selector 31. As a result, only when both inputs match,
A pulse is output from the comparator 30.

Therefore, if the combination of the input data to the comparator 30 is set as shown in FIG. 8, the sampling clock SCK1 at the time of capturing all pixels is set.
The range of 7 to 10 can be set.

The 4-bit counter 29 is reset by the output signal RES of the comparator 30, and the counting is started again. The sampling clock SCK2 is generated by configuring the rate conversion unit 23 'in this way.

According to the second embodiment, even when the rotation angle of θ in FIG. 3 is larger than 2.2 degrees, the rate of the sampling clock SCK2 is set to be slow. It is possible. Therefore, it is possible to absorb the rotation of the image caused by the mounting error of the CCD and display it on the monitor.

In the above-described first and second embodiments, the image pickup apparatus which obtains one image by laminating four image pickup elements has been described. It goes without saying that even in the pixel shift type image pickup device, the tolerance when mounting the image pickup element is widened and the same effect as the above can be obtained.

According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the following constitution can be obtained. (1) A plurality of image pickup means arranged in a predetermined positional relationship for picking up an image of a subject, a monitor means for confirming and displaying the picked up object, and a plurality of image signals thus picked up are thinned out by a predetermined amount, and then the monitor means An image pickup apparatus comprising: a signal processing circuit that outputs a single image signal.

(2) The image pickup apparatus as described in (1) above, further comprising rate setting means for arbitrarily setting the image rate when the imaged video signals are thinned out.

(3) The image pickup apparatus according to (2), characterized in that after the image pickup screen is confirmed by the monitor means, the entire image is recorded on a recording medium.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the object image to be photographed is thinned out to reduce the image data amount, and the allowable values of the image rotation and the horizontal / vertical displacement caused when the image pickup device is attached are increased. In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and a relatively low-priced display monitor for confirming an object can be used, so that an imaging device having excellent portability can be configured.

Further, by thinning out the subject image, even if the image is directly displayed without performing the bonding process between the image pickup elements, the boundary portion can be displayed without being conspicuous, so that the cost of the circuit can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an imaging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an image pickup system to which the image pickup apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3A shows a plurality of CCDAs in the imaging device 10.
16a to 16D are diagrams showing an example of the image formation state of the subject on the CCDD 16, and FIG. 16B is a diagram showing an example of the image formation state of the subject when the rotation θ generated in the CCDC 16c is not corrected.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image rate conversion processing unit 20 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a CCDC having a rotation of θ in FIG.
It is the figure which showed the imaging state of 16a.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing timings of a signal before rate conversion, a signal after rate conversion, and sampling clocks SCK1 and SCK2.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention and is a block diagram showing a configuration of a rate conversion unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a combination of the output of the switch unit 32, the output of the sampling clock SCK2, and the output of the selector 31.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional imaging device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 image pickup device, 11 recording medium, 12 information reader, 13 personal computer, 14 printer, 16 CCD unit, 16a CCDA 16b CCDB, 16c CCDC, 16d CCDD, 17 CDS / AGC unit, 17a to 17d CDS / AGC circuit, 18 A / D conversion unit, 18a to 18d A / D converter, 19 image memory, 20 image rate conversion processing unit, 21 display monitor, 22 timing signal generation circuit, 23, 23 'rate conversion unit, 23a to 23d, 28 latch , 24 RAM section, 25 image changeover switch, 26 RGB simultaneous circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of image pickup means for picking up each area obtained by dividing one shooting screen into a plurality of parts and outputting respective partial image signals, and one video signal by combining the respective partial image signals. Means for generating a timing signal necessary for obtaining the image signal, the plurality of image signals, and the timing signal are input, and based on the timing signal, the image rate output after thinning the image signal by a predetermined amount An image pickup apparatus comprising: a conversion unit. 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image rate conversion means is constituted by a latch circuit means. 3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image rate conversion means can set a plurality of image rates by appropriately selecting the timing signal.